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Would running a 70s 400m then resting for 5 minutes and running again a 70s 400m,repeating this cycle until total exhaustion comprise an HIIT workout?

If not, Would this kind of workout have any beneficial impact on anaerobic fitness and aerobic fitness both? Any lean muscle building?

For reference, (A 400m in 70s is like 80% of my total effort,I can do it in 61s if I run a dead sprint)

I'm a pretty good sprinter. Rapid acceleration and hard stops are my forte.I play as a winger in soccer games.I'm not bad at endurance but not the best by a long shot.So I asked folks at my schools track team bout increasing endurance.They told me bout continuous training. Tho they say I'd have to cut some gym.I certainly don't want to lose my muscle since its one of the main cause of the rapid acceleration. So doing some research on google on HIIT and continuous training and stuff, I thought of this plan.

My objective was to better both my sprint time and endurance. Mid distance endurance. Like 2-3miles?I have no intention of running marathons. And so I cooked up this convoluted plan.I'm sorry for annoying you folks with this convoluted plan.Can you guys suggest some improvements?

I was a 400m sprinter for quite a few months at my school until a really bad sprain put me outta commission for a few weeks.I never ran for a few months after that.Exams and stuff.

I have been working out again for 31/2 months now. Joined the soccer team just a few weeks ago.

I ran 10 sets of 200m before the joining the team.

After joining the team,I have been running 3-5 miles continuously daily.But my time isn't good.

Someone told me that continuous running like this leads to loss of muscle and anaerobic fitness.Also,I'd like not to fare badly which I think I'd if I keep on training continuously like this.

So the thought on HIIT.

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    As indicated in the comments on George's answer, this is a confusing workout structure. Can you elaborate on why you are thinking of doing this workout? What are you trying to achieve?
    – JohnP ♦
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 16:21
  • Ah,Sorry for not specifying anything. I'm a pretty good sprinter. Rapid acceleration and hard stops are my forte.I play as a winger in soccer games.I'm not bad at endurance but not the best by a long shot.So I asked folks at my schools track team bout increasing endurance.They told me bout continuous training. Tho they say I'd have to cut some gym.I certainly don't want to lose my muscle since its one of the main cause of the rapid acceleration. So doing some research on google on HIIT and continuous training and stuff, I thought of this plan.
    – AScientist
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 16:39
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    Just as a clarification - 100-400m are sprints. Mid distance is 800 and the mile, anything over the mile is considered long distance in track terms. So you want to be faster at the 400, and increase endurance for the 2-3 mile duration? (And FYI, a 5k is 3.1 miles, so...)
    – JohnP ♦
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 17:07
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    Have you done any running outside of a sprint workout? If so, have you also done any longer-distance workouts, like continuous tempo runs for, say, 3-5 miles or more? When I think of an "endurance" workout, I kind of think of tempos like that - or, alternatively, interval workouts, with repeats of some shorter distance, like 1ks or miles, with a couple of minutes rest in between at a slightly slower pace. Is that what you mean by "endurance", or do you want to do extended sprinting?
    – HDE 226868
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 17:14
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    One final nag - It would help if you also outline (in your post, you can edit it to include all this) what your current workout structure is for a week, and what your eventual goals are.
    – JohnP ♦
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 17:21

2 Answers 2

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It is a little unusual to do HIIT to build endurance for the soccer field. I would think running longer distances (maybe 5-7km) at 70% effort would be better suited. To add some aerobic-anerobic balance, you could do the first 20% distance at ~100% effort (after sufficient warm-up, of course), drop to 40% effort for the next 30% distance, and finish the last leg at 80% effort.

HIIT is favoured by those with less time, who want to burn more calories. I would think you'd like to avoid that, as you are conscious about not losing any muscle. HIIT done properly is supposed to keep burning well after the workout too. If you must do HIIT, then reduce the high intensity bit to 30-40s, replace the 'rest' phase with light jogging for 2-2.5 minutes and don't do this till exhaustion; set a number of cycles (4 to start with), which you can progressively increase, so that endurance increases somewhat while speed increases more.

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  • Would HIIT still make me lose muscle if I eat enough calories? Hey,Thanks for your help.As John said I added more details to the question. I'm sorry for the weird question.
    – AScientist
    Commented Jun 1, 2018 at 10:54
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400m in 70s is pretty good. Please specify what you are training for and I will update my answer.

As for your question, it does technically count as HIIT but you won't get much benefit from it apart from some strength. HIIT is used to improve the recovery time after a period of intensive exercise. Correct me if I'm wrong but for speed, HIIT workouts tend to be 200-400 meters (or 1-2 minutes) with equal or greater length slow running or walking. Athletes training for long races like half marathons etc usually have longer intervals like 400-800-1600 meters with easy running or walking between intervals.

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  • The way he has it structured is kind of between a threshold workout and an interval workout.
    – JohnP ♦
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 16:08
  • @JohnP As far as I'm aware threshold workouts are longer continuous workouts that you sustain a "comfortable hard" pace which should be bellow your lactate threshold (the body is just about able to get rid of the lactic acid). So I don't think this would count as a threshold workout. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
    – George K
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 16:13
  • Basically yes. Threshold workouts are slightly below a race pace, done on short rest. The purpose is to increase the time you can spend at a higher intensity. Interval workouts are faster than race pace, done on long rest. The described workout is slightly below race pace, but with long rest. They (intervals) are designed to help increase top speed. I don't really see a purpose in the described workout.
    – JohnP ♦
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 16:17
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    I'd help if OP specified what he's training for so we can help @JohnP
    – George K
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 16:18
  • Thanks@George K.Should I walk rather than rest?Also I specified what I'm training for in comments.
    – AScientist
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 16:54

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